Is this possible?

30 miles is doable but I'd advise you to get that bike earlier and do a lot of riding before hand. Swimming will help a bit in generally getting fit but you need to ride to get conditioned for riding.

You also need to sort the bike out regarding the seat, riding position/fit, panniers, gearing etc. Sounds like a great trip, have a look at this site for more information and first hand accounts from people who have done similar trips
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/

Get a bike and get on it now. 30 miles isn't that that difficult for a beginner. 30 miles a day for two months is very difficult. You don't want to flame out at the end of the first week. One of the reasons the Grand Tours are so difficult is that they stretch out for so long. The riders never completely recover from the previous day's ride.

Also, bone up on basic cycle maintenance. You will have breakdowns, be sure you can handle the smaller ones.

Sure wish I was going for a two month ride...

Is 30 miles a day really that hard? It comes to like 3 hours a day, an hour in the morning, and hour in the afternoon and an hour in the evening? It doesn't sound too bad.

It shouldn't be too hard at that kind of pace. Get the bike as soon as you can. A two month tour is not the time to be breaking things in and getting used to the bike. Get everything loaded up and start riding. You might even want to take a few weekend trips before jumping into something that big. It's the only way to really know what kind of pace and distance are reasonable for you.

Thanks for your comments, I think I'm going to go for it. Heres the route I've planned so far, what do you think? The numbers are the days I reckon it will take to reach each location in a worse case scenario:

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Apart from the comfiest seat money can buy, what else do I need to look for in a bike? Thick tires? Wide tires? Suspension?

Gullanian said:

Thanks for your comments, I think I'm going to go for it. Heres the route I've planned so far, what do you think? The numbers are the days I reckon it will take to reach each location in a worse case scenario:

drum-world.com2.gifOpen ↗

Apart from the comfiest seat money can buy, what else do I need to look for in a bike? Thick tires? Wide tires? Suspension?

Sure it's possible, but there is a lot to a long self-supported tour like this. Conditioning, equipment, bike handling ability, maintenance, route/map knowledge, etc. And, riding a loaded touring bike is a lot different than a bare bike.

I'd suggest you get a good touring bike, get your equipment, and then break it and yourself in on shorter week trips before setting out for le gran tour. Best would be to start with a guided tour; you can learn a lot from the leader and others in the group.

You may find out 30 miles a day for a week isn't as easy as it looks on paper, or that the sheer logistics issues of riding unsupported turn out to be not your cup of tea.

a couple of big factors haven't been discussed yet.

Are you planning to stay in hostels/hotels or camp?

How much do you weigh and how much does your gear weigh?

Personally I have done quite well with 50-60 miles a day taking a break every fourth day. However I usually stay in hostels or small hotels and eat at grocery stores. By travelling with my wife we are able to keep are gear weight to 15-25 pounds per bike including tools, tubes and tires.

(Look into some of the self-chekc in efficiency motels, some of them cost the same as hostel but you get a private room/shower, much better bed, etc.)

If you can keep your rider plus gear weight under 200, you are in pretty good shape. If you are going fully load your number is going to be a chunk higher. (230ish maybe,

I think 30 a day loaded sounds quite doable (assuming non-mountain terrain). Just remember to take a break day every 3-4 days, try to plan your route as if you were training. Ride your bike around a little on your off days without having it loaded. Remember to eat well!!! Doing this allows your body to actually get stronger as you tour.

I highly recommend getting real bike clothes to wear. Especially shorts!
Read sheldon brown's site for thorough run down of needs/wants, especially about the saddle.

soft does not equal comfy saddle. consider leather.

Wow, heck of a tour for an absolute beginner. I note from the map that you plan on handling some rough terrain (Austria and Switzerland!).

As some of the other posters have said:

1) get the bike as soon as possible and begin riding. You need to get used to it, and riding 45km a day, day-in, day-out will get to you physically!

2) if you are riding on road you do not need suspension, and most any decent bike will get you where you need to go. You may want to consider touring rigs (cannondale, trek, bruce gordon, for example have them).

3) Get the bike set up (with panniers) the way you intend to ride it during the tour and TRAIN WITH IT THAT WAY!

4) You may want to doublecheck your itinerary and get ideas and information from good touring pages, such as Trento Bike Pages http://www-math.science.unitn.it/Bike/ which has sections on touring everywhere in Europe (and indeed the world)!

Best of luck and have a great time!

So from what I have read the msot important thing for me to do now is buy a bike and start training. No idea what bike to get, can anyone recommend one? My budget is around £600. Is this one any good?

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Sorry to be a pain, I might be on the complete wrong tracks and I don't know what to look for when buying a bike for this sort of thing.

For my 18th birthday I was given some money to travel with, so I figured getting a bike and cycling europe would be a fun thing to do. I want to get a good quality bike which is why I am putting up £600 because I want it to be of a good quality and durability for the journey. I also want a bike that I can use after the journey for general purpose cycling.

Does the budget of £600 for a bike, £100 for accessories (bags, milometer, maps, spare parts, new seat, tools) sound ok?

And what sort of spares do I need? Obviously inner tubes, but do I need things like a spare chain?

Bikedock.com do a deal where you get 15% the cost of the bike in equipment, so if I bought a £600 bike I would get £90 of equipment for free. Any good bikes on there?

Of the bikes I saw on the evanscycle link, the mountain bike you indicated is not really suited to a long tour. Why not go for a touring model (such as one of the Dawes) that are available in the same (more or less) price range, have been developed for touring, and already have the racks to attach your panniers to!? There was quite a nice one for 699.

You will need some basic mechanical knowledge (your bike shop should teach you/let you hang around and learn) and at the very least the following tools/equipment: a couple of inner tubes, a spare clincher, a patch kit, tire levers, a multitool (more 'serious' tools would be better, but...) a spoke wrench, a few extra spokes and cleaning material for your chain.

I would add a computer to the bike (it is cool to see the kms rack up while you are on your tour!), and probably upgrade to a set of touring friendly clipless pedals (you can get perfectly reliable, cheap 'spd' type pedals and a decent set of riding shoes, which will increase your pedaling performance exponentially). Also save some money for the necessary clothes - biking shorts, gloves, shoes, a helmet and good sunglasses. They will improve your riding experience immeasurably!

Happy shopping and riding!

Thanks for your help!

I would love to get a touring bike, but this bike I don't think will be suitable for other cycling I enjoy doing after the trip I'm planning, I also enjoy a bit of offroad and would like a good general purpose bike I can use afterwards. Is it essential to get a touring bike, whats the difference between that an a mountain bike?

Tom

A touring bike is going to be quite a bit lighter than a mountain bike with geometry that's more efficient for road riding. They are also designed to carry large racks and paniers. If you're going to be packing light, you might be able to carry everything with a cyclocross bike. With slick tires, that will be almost as efficient as a road bike, but will have good offroad capabilities when you put the knobbies back on.

Gullanian said:

I would love to get a touring bike, but this bike I don't think will be suitable for other cycling I enjoy doing after the trip I'm planning, I also enjoy a bit of offroad and would like a good general purpose bike I can use afterwards. Is it essential to get a touring bike,

If you intend to travel light (i.e. not camping but using youth hostels and such) then it's doable on a mtb. You might consider roading it up a bit though, tires-gearing-seating position. Those are things that can be changed back at a reasonable cost once your long trip is done. Most of the trip seems to run through densely populated areas, so you won't really need to carry a lot of supplies.
You really need to train for riding by riding, other workouts simply won't be enough to prepare your body (specially the butt) for day after day in the saddle otherwise. You might also consider planning for complete rest days every now and then instead of the continuous schedule you've mentioned.